Mark Shand, royal brother-in-law, dies after fall in N.Y.

Apr. 23, 2014
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Mark Shand, brother of Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, died in New York today from a serious head injury after a fall. An elephant conservationist, he showed his sister around the Elephant Parade exhibition in London in June 2010. / Pool Getty Images

by Maria Puente, USA TODAY

by Maria Puente, USA TODAY

Mark Shand, the brother-in-law of Prince Charles, died today after a fall in New York, royal press officials said in London.

He was 62, and the younger brother of the former Camilla Parker Bowles, now the second wife of the Prince of Wales and known as the Duchess of Cornwall.

Few details were released. Funeral arrangements were not announced.

"It is with deep sadness that we have to confirm that the Duchess of Cornwall's brother, Mark Shand, has today passed away in New York," the statement from Clarence House said. "Mr. Shand died in hospital as a result of a serious head injury which he sustained during a fall last night. The Duchess, The Prince of Wales and all her family members are utterly devastated by this sudden and tragic loss."

Shand, a travel writer and conservationist, was in New York for an auction in aid of charities including the Elephant Family, an organization chaired by Shand and devoted to saving the endangered Asian elephant. He was outside a nightclub lighting a cigarette when he fell, according to reports.

He "was a man of extraordinary vitality, a tireless campaigner and conservationist whose incredible work through The Elephant Family and beyond remained his focus right up until his death," the palace statement concluded.

Shand, like his sister, was a descendant of Alice Keppel, a mistress to Edward VII, Charles' great-great grandfather. He is survived by his wife, Clio Goldsmith, and a daughter, Ayesha Shand.